


Broken World

by Glittering_Mess



Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: A Dangerous Path, Alternate Universe, BloodClan, F/M, I wish we got to know Leopardstar better, The Darkest Hour, TigerClan
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-04
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2020-02-18 12:51:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 15,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18699964
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Glittering_Mess/pseuds/Glittering_Mess
Summary: AU - In which TigerClan wins and blood rules the forest. Leopardstar had loved the dark tabby tom with strong muscles and a stronger ambition. How could she know that it would turn so very wrong? Now, desperate to escape the claws of Tigerstar's twisted reality and save her Clan at the same time, she has no choice but to turn to her former enemies for help. Allies are forged, friends are made, and Leopardstar has to face her own stubborn pride to right her wrongs. Or will RiverClan be destroyed forever?





	1. Chapter 1

Moonlight trailed glowing ribbons over the forest floor, bathing the clearing with a cold, harsh light. A tang of frost hung heavily in the cooling night air. The few leaves that remained on the trees quivered at the warning of the coming leaf-bare. The cats below shook as well, but not merely of the cold. It was the mingled fear and excitement of what was yet to come, an anticipation that sharpened the claws and honed the spirit. Their eyes winked in the darkness like stars fallen and caught among the undergrowth. 

A spotted, golden tabby she-cat shivered with the wind. Her gaze swept over the shapes of cats huddled around her, their forms resting on beds of moss. Even as the reek of old blood tinged her muzzle, her face remained expressionless. One was used to the scent of it by now. 

A cat hovered over her. 

“Sorry,” the brown tom, Mudfur, breathed. “Am I hurting you?” Gingerly, he dabbed a paw at the poultice on her shoulder. 

She shook her head. Closed her eyes. After a while, she heard the tom quietly pad away.

Leopardstar wasn’t quite sure how it had all come to this. How, in all her wise ways and clever thinking and iron heart, her Clan had succumbed to what it was now. Hadn’t she made the right decision? Hadn’t she thought so? Wouldn’t any decent, self-respecting leader want what was best for the Clan: good hunting, broad stretches of territory, safety and comfort?

_ What would Crookedstar have done?  _ she thought again, in the thousand and one other thoughts that tormented her endlessly. Most nights, in what little untroubled sleep that she had, she would try and reach out to the old leader, seek the path to the ancestors. But maybe StarClan had closed their hearts, for all her dreams were paved in blackness. 

That, and death.

Pawsteps now. She recognized them. Her guts lurched. 

Tigerstar was talking to his medicine cats—  _ Mine as well _ , she told herself—  his voice a low rumble. Still, her ears couldn’t help but swivel.

“...How are my warriors?”

Runningnose dipped his head. “None of them were gravely wounded. Only scratches and bites. Every cat will recover by the next three mornings.”

A pleased noise from the TigerClan leader. “Good, good.”

“And another thing…” Hasty whispering, too low to hear.

     Though her back was toward them, Leopardstar’s hackles rose as Tigerstar’s eyes burned embers into her shoulder blades. 

       Pawsteps, closer now. A bushy tail twined around her own. Leopardstar clenched her teeth. The tom brushed his cheek against her own, purring. His breath reeked of day-old mouse and blood. He had never been this affectionate before, always distant and curt. It was all she could do to not pull away. 

       “How’s my second-in-command?” he rumbled. Bile rose in her throat.

        Replied, with her eyes still closed, “So Runningnose broke the news to you?”

         “ _ Very  _ good news.” His flank rubbed against hers. “You have no idea how delighted I am, Leopardstar. Our Clan is growing stronger by the day, and soon, my legacy will be passed on. Surely you couldn’t have told me sooner?”

         Of course, Leopardstar had known from the start. Two, three days ago, when she’d awoken from sleep, flanks heaving and a sinking feeling clawing at the pit of her stomach. 

         Later, she’d wept bitterly to Mudfur, her control lost in a torrent of rage and sorrow and deep, deep regret. How had things turned out so  _ wrong? _

__ But for now, she answered Tigerstar’s purr. It was deafening. 

         “I wanted to surprise you.”

         “And I am,” he mewed. “You’ll have to move into the nursery at once. I can’t risk having anything happen to you, not with our kits at stake.”

         Despite herself, a wave of relief washed over her. No more patrolling, seeing what the remnants of her territory had become. No more fighting. No more seeing cats torn into bloody shreds. 

       Then came the shame. Always the shame. Here were her Clanmates slaving away to make her proud. And herself? Dozing away in the nursery like some soft, weak kittypet. 

        She buried her face into the thick muff of his chest and let sleep take hold of her.


	2. Chapter 2

_One blow to his shoulder unbalanced Firestar. He fell on his side, exposing his belly, and Scourge’s vicious claws sank into his throat. Blood welled out as the smaller cat ripped him down to the tail with a single slash._ _  
_ _A desperate cry erupted from Firestar, then broke off with a ghastly choking sound. His body convulsed, limbs jerking and tail flailing. For a heartbeat a stillness settled over him, and Leopardstar knew he was falling into the trance of a leader who loses a life, to wake after a little while restored to strength and with the rest of his lives intact._ _  
__But not even StarClan could heal this terrible wound. Scourge stood back and watched coldly as Firestar’s body convulsed again. The dark red blood kept on flowing, spreading across the ground in a ceaseless tide. Firestar let out another shriek; Leopardstar wanted to cover her ears so she didn’t have to listen anymore, but she was frozen to the spot._ _  
___Again the tabby’s body grew still for a heartbeat, but again the wound was too terrible to yield to the healing trance. Another spasm seized Firestar’s body. His claws tore up clumps of grass in his agony, while his screeches turned from pain to terror.

_ “You see what happens to cats who defy BloodClan,” the black cat warned calmly. “Your friend here”—he gave a contemptuous flick with his tail toward Firestar’s motionless body—“thought he could control us. He was wrong.” _

_ Leopardstar’s blood turned cold as ice. _

_ —————————————————- _

She awoke with a gasp. Her flanks were heaving, and her heart raced faster than a hummingbird’s wings. 

In an instant, Mosspelt and Tallpoppy were at her side. 

“ _ Shhh,”  _ Mosspelt whispered. “It was just a nightmare. You’re safe with us in the nursery.”

_ I’m not a kit,  _ Leopardstar wanted to snap back, but thought better of it and held her tongue. 

Ignoring the way her legs shook, she stood up and announced, “I’m going for a walk in the forest. It’ll help clear my mind.”

Tallpoppy’s eyes grew round. “But—“

“I’ll take Mudfur with me.”

Without another backwards glance, she exited the nursery and strode to the medicine cats’ den. A tom’s sleeping form could be seen inside, wrapped in a blanket of shadows.

“Mudfur,” she hissed, careful not to wake Runningnose and his apprentice, Littlecloud. 

Her old father stirred. Two amber eyes peered at her from the darkness.

“Time for another walk?” he rasped.

She nodded.

“Then let’s go.”

Though it had only been weeks since the beginning, the swell of her belly was evident, but not so much that it hindered her walking. Tigerstar had insisted on feeding her the choicest morsels, the fattest fish and frogs, so that her pelt shown as glossy as ever. With only two Clans in the forest now, prey was everywhere. Every mouthful of food felt like thorns in her throat, but she always choked it down under Tigerstar’s cold, amber gaze. It made her fur bristle, made her want to yowl out in rage at the helpless, stupid thing she was reduced to.

Oakfur and Loudbelly were guarding the entrance. They dipped their heads as their leader passed.

For a while, the two of them padded together without speaking, the silence of the night only broken by wind and the crackling of leaves underpaw. 

Leopardstar tasted the air. She meowed, “Rabbit downwind. If we stay low, we can—“

Mudfur surged forward before she could finish. There came scuffling in the undergrowth, a squeak cut off. Then the tom re-emerged with the rabbit limp in his jaws.

Leopardstar chuckled. “I was suggesting we go after it together.”

He grinned. “No need. I still got a hint of my warrior skills left in me. And besides, you don’t want anything happening to the…”

She cringed. They sloshed in her belly like a pool of icy black water, and the very thought of the kits -- _ his  _ kits-- growing inside her made her head reel with disgust. She had almost been too afraid to tell Mudfur what she  _ really  _ thought, her fear and worry mingling together like a rainstorm: that she wouldn’t find it in her heart to love them. Or worse yet, she’d give birth to monsters that would follow in their father’s pawsteps. 

But the old cat always knew. 

“Listen, Leopardstar,” he murmured, drawing her in close. “These kits are more precious, more important than anything we could have. RiverClan  _ needs  _ them. Tigerstar might not have a weakness then, but he does now.” His eyes glowed calmly in the night. “I feel, somehow, that they are our only hope.”

She started. “Did you get a prophecy about them?” she asked, a little too hurriedly. To her disappointment, he shook his head. She wanted to ask him if he’d heard anything from their silent ancestors, but was almost afraid of the answer.

Instead, she shook her fur. “It’s almost dawn. We have to hurry.”

Together, they caught three mice, another rabbit, and an owlet that had fallen out of its nest. Her nose wrinkled. Despite all this time, she still hadn’t gotten used to the smell of forest prey. It tasted woody to her, disgusting and full of dirt. Not at all like the sleek fish.

They raced across the stepping stones in the river, heading toward her old territory. Cold, cold water. No time to stop. 

As always, the sight of it gave her a pang of sadness. There was her old den nestled beneath a boulder, and the beech copse where apprentices used to train. If she concentrated hard enough, she could almost hear their squeals and laughter, and see her cats sharing tongues in the clearing. 

A wind blew, and the visions were gone. There was nothing here but empty nests. 

Her voice was sharper than she intended it to be. “Come on,” she growled, and stalked forward with the fresh-kill in her jaws. 

Hidden behind a tall row of freshwater plants was a small island surrounded by still water. It was covered neatly by overgrown reeds and cattails, and if a cat didn’t look too closely, it was nearly invisible. 

On the island was a den that smelled faintly of fox. Nothing stirred inside. 

Leopardstar and Mudfur placed the fresh-kill in front of it. 

“I spotted a carp swimming upriver the other day,” she mewed. 

“Really? How strange. And what color was the carp?”

“Golden all over, just like the sun.”

At the code, a nose poked hesitantly out of the den. Then another, and another. Finally, five faces were peering up at them, the first with an expression of relief, and the other four with fear. 

Mistyfoot rasped, “It’s been ages. We were afraid you’d been caught.” She nodded respectfully at Mudfur. The former warrior of RiverClan was much thinner. It seemed to Leopardstar that each time she saw her, she looked more ragged than the last. 

“Don’t be frog-brained,” came the leader’s reply. “I wouldn’t be so reckless as to let those snake-hearts trail after me. Now eat.”

The apprentices, Featherpaw, Stormpaw, and Mistyfoot’s kits, Primrosekit and Reedkit, were already tucking in to the fresh-kill. A pang of sorrow washed over her as she saw how thin they’d become. As skinny as minnows, and just as pitiful. With TigerClan and BloodClan stalking the forest, the island was the only place half-Clanners would be safe. 

_ I won’t let them die on me,  _ she thought.  _ Not after Stonefur.  _

Mistyfoot gulped down a mouse while the youngsters busied themselves on the rabbit, too hungry to speak. For a long while, the only sounds came from their teeth rasping on flesh. 

Finally, Mistyfoot meowed, “You look...well.”

“Yes.” A hint of embarrassment in her voice. And shame. She scuffled her paws. “I...I am expecting kits.”

Featherpaw and Stormpaw looked at her in shock. 

Mistyfoot’s eyes narrowed. “I see.”

And though the question was on the tip of her tongue, she knew when to leave things unsaid.

Leopardstar swung around and hid her face, marveling at how she could keep her voice from trembling in the wake of all her emotions. “The sky is growing lighter. I’ll see you again in the next seven days.”

“Wait.”

Mistyfoot padded up to her.  _ Great StarClan, can’t she just let me leave? _

In a low murmur, she pleaded, “We can’t keep living like this, Leopardstar. I worry for them,” She nodded at the apprentices. “They keep getting weaker, and the frogs and minnows we catch aren’t enough to keep their strength up. I know you can’t risk coming back here all the time, but there must be somewhere better we can go. Before leafbare hits us.”

Leopardstar furrowed her brow. “But BloodClan and TigerClan spies are everywhere. They’d kill you on sight. Or worse yet, drag you back to camp like they did to - to your brother.” Even now, she couldn’t bear to speak her old deputy’s name. The memory always hit her as hard as a rockslide, threatening to sweep her off her paws. “You know I can’t possibly let you do that.”

“So you’d rather let us starve?”

The accusation was harsh, raw. Despite herself, Leopardstar winced and drew away.

Mistyfoot’s gaze softened. “Forgive me, Leopardstar. I know you mean to protect us. But as a warrior, it is my duty to protect my Clanmates as well.” She placed her paw on top of Leopardstar’s. “I think Stonefur would have wanted to do the same,” she finished quietly. 

Leopardstar looked at the two half-starved apprentices before her. So young and helpless. Leafbare would be upon them like a pack of rabid dogs, and what would they do for food then?

_ Half-Clanners.  _ Unbidden, the image of Tigerstar morphed into her mind, his jowls drawn back into a vicious snarl.  _ Finish it, Blackfoot.  _ How she’d just  _ stood  _ there, watching it with her own eyes, like the coward she was.

“Leopardstar?” Mudfur asked, alarmed. The fur along her spine was bristling.

She paced to and fro, her claws gauging deep marks into the earth. Her ears laid flat against her head, her face twisted in anger.

“You shouldn’t be living like this,” she muttered under her breath. “Letting that tick-for-brains order me around like he’s the leader over me. I’ve let myself become soft.”

She stopped and glared at Mistyfoot. The apprentices and kits cowered.

“You’re right, Mistyfoot. Tigerstar has been wrong about everything. And so have I.” For a moment, regret clouded her eyes. “I suppose now is a good time to go as any. I-I’ll send two of my warriors along with you—“

She shook her head. “Thank you, but no.”

“But—“

“If I get captured, I want it to be only me. I don’t want any more innocent cats getting dragged into this.”

Leopardstar wondered how she had come to meet such a courageous, selfless cat.

Mistyfoot licked the top of Reedkit’s head, then Primrosekit’s, and finally Featherpaw and Stormpaw. 

“Be brave for me,” she told them. “Remember to stay in the den always, unless for fishing, and to never, ever leave the island.”

“What if you don’t come back?” Primrosekit squeaked.

“I will. With StarClan by my side, I swear that I will. And I’ll find a better place for us, where we’ll be safe and warm and fed.” 

“Then I’ll come too!” Stormpaw puffed out his chest. “I’ll tear out the fur of anyone who dares hurt you.”

Mistyfoot shook her head. “No, Stormpaw. You need to look after the kits.”

Leopardstar watched the scene with her eyes brimming with emotion.  _ She makes a good mother,  _ she thought. And hoped she’d be half as fine.

Mudfur meowed, “Dawn is upon us. It’s time to get going.”

Mistyfoot touched noses to each apprentice and kit, one by one, then strode away from them with her head held high. Still, Leoparstar could see how much each step pained her, taking her away from the cats she loved most. 

She didn’t bring herself to look back, but knew that the youngsters were watching them go with round, sorrowful eyes. 

She, Mudfur, and Mistyfoot slipped into the water and swam silently until the island was gone and hidden by reeds once more. 

“Head upriver,” Leopardstar told her. “And never leave the water, no matter what. The sound of the river will hide any noise you make, and most cats won’t venture far down enough to get wet.”

Mistyfoot nodded.

“And...believe me, Mistyfoot, I am so very sorry for everything that I have done.” At the moment she was tired, her bones weighing her down, but because of the kits or the swim across the river, she did not know.

Mistyfoot licked her forehead and smiled sadly. “It’s alright, Leopardstar. I couldn’t have asked for a more noble leader as you.”

Then she turned, and with a slap of her tail in the water, was on her way.

_ May StarClan light your path. Oh, Crookedstar, please show her the right way and keep her from harm. And Stonefur, please protect Featherpaw, Stormpaw, and the kits. _

Her throat ached.  _ I am very sorry to you both. _

She nodded to her medicine cat, and the two swam away in the other direction. They were just passing through the stepping stones when she stood stark still, every fiber in her body tense and her nerves on fire.

Mudfur asked, alarmed, “What is it?”

“BloodClan,” she hissed. Their crowfood stench was as unmistakable as the rotten teeth they wore on their necks. She unsheathed her claws. Mistyfoot was still nearby. The alarms in her head were deafening.

Rustling in the bushes. The glint of something white. 

With as bored a voice as she could muster, she meowed, “I know you’re there.”

Stillness once more. 

Then, one by one, three cats stalked into view. They were surrounded. Outnumbered.

Mudfur moved closer to her side, his hackles giving away his fear. She remained still and held her chin up to look the cats in the eye. 

She didn’t give them the liberty to speak first. “Well?” she demanded. “Aren’t you going to let us pass? On  _ my _ own territory?”

One of them, a black she-cat, chuckled. “These lands belong to every one of us. That was what Tigerstar promised, remember?”

A white she-cat piped up. “What’re you soaking wet for? Fell into the river?”

“My medicine cat here wanted me to exercise and keep my body in shape.” She straightened and made herself taller. “ _ I’m  _ expecting kits.”

There was no need to say whose they were. The three cats visibly stiffened and seemed on the brink of fleeing. 

“Did I catch disrespect in your tone, Frost?” she demanded. The white she-cat tensed. “I will let Tigerstar know of what you told me immediately. I  _ am  _ the leader of TigerClan, and if I feel like strolling through my territory, then I will do so gladly. This river belongs to my cats and I will do with them what I please.  _ That _ was also part of the agreement.” 

“Let’s go,” the black she-cat hissed to her companions, and the three slunk off, away from the river, away from the island and Mistyfoot.

The kits had proven useful. They wouldn’t have dared bother her, not with the thought of Tigerstar’s claws raking their backs.

“They’re gone now,” she whispered to Mudfur, rasping her tongue over his ear. He nodded shakily. 

It was morning by the time they made it back to camp, sunlight streaming through the branches.

Tigerstar was speaking to the TigerClan deputy, Blackfoot. At the sight of her, he bounded toward her and said, “You weren’t in the nursery.” If she squinted, she could almost detect a hint of worry.

A flicker of annoyance.  _ Who’s he to tell me what to do? _

“I’ve been cooped up in there so long that my legs were turning into mush. Mudfur said that a swim would do some good.”

The dark brown tom growled. “What if something happened? There could have been a fox or a badger. Mudfur’s too old to protect you.”

“Good thing I can take care of  _ myself,”  _ she snapped, and pushed past him to the fresh-kill pile. But the memory of Featherpaw, Stormpaw, and the kits made her lose her appetite. Here she was, guzzling down food while they slowly starved.

The TigerClan leader meowed, “From now on, you tell me whenever you go out, what you are doing, and where you plan on going.”

A rise of fear, raw and cold.  _ He couldn’t possibly know,  _ she reassured herself. 

“I am perfectly capable of looking out for myself, thank you very much,” she said through gritted teeth.  _ I’m a Clan leader, for StarClan’s sake! _

“And you are to bring at least two warriors with you.  _ My  _ ShadowClan warriors, not yours,” he continued, ignoring her remark.

His dark amber eyes glittered coolly. Then he padded away, leaving her glaring after him and absolutely fuming. 

She snatched a robin out of the pile and stormed into the shade. To hell with it all.

As she tore at the meat, nearly clawing it to pieces, a shadow made her look up. She was about to snarl something when she stopped, mid-bristle.

It was Russetfur. The she-cat smiled at her, not unkindly. 

“It’s a beautiful day, isn’t it? Mind if I eat with you?”

Leopardstar mumbled a “yes” and looked away.  _ Just leave me alone. _

Silence now, except for the regular hustle and bustle of the camp. Kits mewled, cats shared tongues, ordered patrols and prey and snarky jokes. It was almost like the old RiverClan. Almost. Another wave of sorrow threatened to drown her.

The ShadowClan warrior mewed, “You know he’s just worried about you, is all. He can’t help but be overbearing. You’re his mate.”

_ Mate. _

She choked on the food and got up, her flank quivering with revulsion.

“Y-you can have the rest of that,” she said, and toddered unsteadily away.


	3. Chapter 3

_ Rotten. Tainted. Wet and slimy.  _

_ Those were the thoughts that swam in Leopardstar’s mind as she padded through the black belly of a tunnel. Her nose wrinkled and she fought the urge to gag. _

_ The Twolegplace. She knew this, not that she had ever set paw in there before. The stench was what gave it away. That, and the smell of fear that hung heavily in the air like dust, so strong that it coated the inside of her mouth. _

_ What am I doing here? she wondered. _

_ She called, “Mudfur? Crookedstar, are you here?” _

_ Here? Here? came the echo in a hollow, disembodied voice that made her fur stand on end. _

_ “Whiteclaw?” she whispered, hoping that she’d feel the warmth of his pelt brush against hers.  _

_ But she was alone here. _

_ Or was she? _

_ The dampness squelched disgustingly beneath her paws as she led herself deeper down under. _

_ Her ears pricked up. The mewling of kits? _

_ She squinted. There in the darkness was a queen wrapped around a litter of kittens, furiously lapping at their heads. Around them stood cats, three or four or five, talking amongst themselves in voices that she couldn’t pick up. _

_ She didn’t recognize any of them. They didn’t seem like Clan cats.  _

_ Then another scent, an alarming one, one that spoke of danger and claws and dark amber eyes… _

Leopardstar winced at the sunlight and grumbled to herself, burying her face under a paw.

“Sleep well?” 

“Hrrmph.”

As the moon grew and swelled, so did her belly. She was halfway along and bigger, but still her movements were sleek and graceful. Tigerstar made her sleep in his den more and more often. 

_ After all, we share this leadership,  _ he had said. Slowly, he had started warming up to her, displaying a tenderness she never knew the murderous tom was capable of. 

Now, he was settled beside her in the same nest. 

“I could get you some prey,” he offered gruffly. 

“No need,” she mumbled. “Unless you caught me a nice trout. I’ve no taste for your forest prey.”

It was hard to fall back asleep with him looming above her. He wasn’t exactly the affectionate type. Though they were — _ mates—  _ he kept mostly to himself, sometimes brushing his pelt against hers and making awkward small talk, commenting on the weather and such things. Asking her how she was. If she had eaten or felt any pains.

Which was fine with her. She built an icy wall between them and left it there. 

As she lay there, her mind wandered and thought back to how everything went so, so wrong. 

Agreeing to form TigerClan. It had been a good idea then. Tigerstar  _ was _ strong and ambitious and so sure of what he was doing, and one Clan in the forest did seem better than four.

Then came the regret. The fear. The self-loathing. Stonefur’s death had been etched in her mind. So was Firestar’s, how his nine lives had been stolen so easily in the swipe of a claw. 

How LionClan had fled, defeated. And the bloody hunts, the purges, that came after.

At least RiverClan survived. At least her warriors were safe and well-fed.

It was an uneasy peace. But not a peace without cost.

She stretched her legs, grimacing. It had been ages since she had left camp. Being in a den was starting to feel suffocating.

Tigerstar had been staring at her the whole time, his face expressionless. Leopardstar shot him a look of contempt. 

“I’m going on a patrol, whether you like it or not. I’ll take Heavystep and Dawnpaw with me.” She stalked away.

“Wait.”

_ Ugh. _

_ “ _ I’m coming as well.”

She searched his face for any hint of suspicion. Then shrugged.

The camp was sunny and rife with activity. A stranger who saw it would scarcely know its dark, power-hungry past.

Tallpoppy’s one-moon old kits staggered into the clearing while their mother looked proudly on. Seeing them made something hurt in the pit of Leopardstar’s belly.

Would she ever look at her kits as fondly as Tallpoppy did?

“...in charge while I’m gone,” Tigerstar was murmuring to Blackfoot. She gave the white warrior a wide berth. After Stonefur, all she felt when she looked at him was a deep loathing.

She beckoned to Heavystep. “Bring your apprentice along. We’re going on a sunhigh patrol.”

Though the sun glowed above them, frost crackled and glittered like stars.

“No doubt that snow will be on its way soon,” Heavystep commented. “In a couple moons, perhaps.”

To Dawnpaw, he asked, “Smell anything?”

The she-cat closed her eyes. “Badger, but it’s stale, a Twoleg and its dog, some squirrels, aaaand...milk!”

She pranced in front of Leopardstar. “When’ll they be born, d’you think? And can I mentor them? I’m strong, and smart, and—“

“Don’t know when to stop chattering like a bird and focus on the task at paw,” Heavystep finished, shooting her a glare. She wilted.

“Sor _ ry.” _

The apprentice’s talk made her nervous. She’d hoped the walk and fresh air would clear her mind, forget the burden nestled in the swell of her belly. Instead, it only got worse.

“Can you smell that pigeon?” she coaxed. “I bet you could catch it before Heavystep.”

Dawnpaw’s eyes brightened, then dimmed again. “But I stink at catching birds. I miss having fish. Can we go hunt at the river? Pleeeaase?”

“Well…”

Featherpaw and Stormpaw would be there. But they’d be well-hidden, wouldn’t they?

Heavystep nodded. “I suggest we go before the river freezes for leafbare. What do you say, Leopardstar?”

“I say we quit standing around and start moving,” Tigerstar growled. “Are all your warriors as incompetent as these, Leopardstar?”

Without another word, he stalked into the shadows. Leopardstar stared after him, bristling furiously.  _ How dare he! _

Heavystep placed his tail tip on her shoulder. “Never mind him,” he mewed sympathetically. She muttered something under her breath and trailed after the tom, tail swishing angrily behind her. 

But it was hard to stay angry for long. 

The day  _ was _ beautiful. Birdsong rang out from every branch and ledge, and the air was crisp and fresh. Sunbeams danced on thin, twigbare tree branches. Their breaths hung in misty clouds before crystallizing and floating away. 

The river today was calm and still, as gray as ice and just as cold. She could see her reflection in its waters, and above her, a white ball of sun that flickered and burned coldly. 

“Come over here, Dawnpaw!” Heavystep called. “Remember what I taught you: crouch down and wait with patience, with your paw above the water…”

She watched the two of them hunt and stretched out comfortably on her side. It felt nice to be out of the camp for a while. The wind was gentle and cool to the touch, ruffling her fur. She wondered what Mistyfoot was up to. Whether or not she was okay. Mudfur visited the two apprentices often, but the gray she-cat was still nowhere to be found. Surely, she’d be back by now…?

Another reflection joined her in the water, this one of a big, burly dark brown tabby. She blinked at him questioningly as he settled down to wrap his tail around his paws, and it was a while before he spoke.

“Nice day,” he meowed, avoiding her eyes. 

“Yes.”

The silence was uncomfortable. Deafening, almost. She kept her gaze fixed on the trees in the distance, and if she concentrated hard enough, she could pretend she was back in her den, her old one, where she was leader of RiverClan and Stonefur was still her deputy. Her eyelids drooped. She’d been sleepy lately. Tired out more often. Mudfur had reassured her that it was normal for queens, and now the grass had never seemed more comfortable. 

_ SPLASH! _

In an instant, she was on her feet. “Dawnpaw!” she gasped. 

The apprentice was giggling. “Look, Leopardstar! I got one, I got one!” In her jaws was a flapping carp, nearly the size of herself. It was all she could do to hang on without falling in. 

“And it’s huge,” Heavystep purred. “Well done.”

Leopardstar heaved a sigh of relief. “Good job, Dawnpaw,” she added, smiling. 

“Can we eat it now? Pleease?”

Automatically, she felt herself glancing over at Tigerstar before catching herself.  _ I’m the leader too. _

Ignoring him, she nodded. “Every cat in the Clan is already well-fed, and the fresh-kill pile is stocked. With such fine hunting skills, we should have no problem feeding ourselves in leafbare. You’ve earned it, Dawnpaw.”

Dawnpaw shrieked in delight and immediately dug into the kill. Heavystep dipped his head. “Thank you, Leopardstar.”

There was a sense of peace in watching them eat, as though they were back in RiverClan again. Unbidden and uncalled for, a memory formed like rising smoke: cold water lapping at paws, her nose and mouth. Whitefang and Sunfish  _ mrrow _ ing with laughter.

Another memory: Whiteclaw’s pelt catching the rays of sun as he paddled next to her. 

_ “Take this!” she had said, playfully splashing him. _

_ “Gah! Help, it’s the great spotted monster!” he had meowed, laughing. _

Or was it “great spotted toad?” She couldn’t quite remember. Her eyes glistened.

Almost to herself, she murmured, “I remember my first fish.”

Tigerstar blinked. “It was probably a great catch.”

Her mouth twitched in what could be a small, sad smile. “A minnow is hardly what you’d call a great catch. I actually hated the water, you know.”

“Really?” The surprise was evident in his voice. “That’d be hard for any cat to believe. You swim better than an otter.”

“Is that a compliment I hear?” she mewed teasingly. He curled his lip and shot her a glare.

She shrugged. “Anyway, my denmate Sunfish was the one who helped me get over my fear of the water. She’d put prey on a rock in the river and told me I couldn’t eat until I swam across to fetch it. I hated it with every bone in my body. But it worked.”

“You miss them.”

Leopardstar blinked at him in surprise.

“Your old Clan. But don’t waste your life fretting. TigerClan will grow stronger than anything you’ve seen before, better even than RiverClan or ShadowClan.”

Leopardstar was getting tired again. Her joints ached, and a pain was thudding away in her left temple. 

“Teach me how to fish.”

That startled her back awake. “What?”

He rolled his eyes. “I want to learn. I’ve never caught one before. It’ll sharpen my skills.”

“Whatever,” she huffed under her breath, too low for him to hear. Wincing, she dragged herself closer to the bank and peered down at the river. The water was moving sluggishly along like a great lazy snake. Now and then, dark shapes skimmed past, quicker than a blink.

“It takes a lot of practice,” she warned. “You might not get anything today. Now, put your paw above it like this. That’s too close to the water. You want time to swing downward with full force.”

When was the last time she’d had an apprentice?

“Good. Now we wait.”

He grumbled, “I look like a fool.”

Dawnpaw giggled, only to be silenced by a hiss from the dark tabby.

Leopardstar ignored them both, concentrating on the dark shapes sliding under the waves. 

Tigerstar grumbled, “How much longer?”

“Fishing is all about patience.”

“My arm is getting stiff.”

_ You complain like an elder,  _ she thought to herself, but didn’t dare say it out loud.  _ Possibly the worst apprentice I’ve ever had. _

“Remember to keep still, or else your shadow will scare them away. And don’t aim for the place you see the fish, or you’ll just end up with a pawful of water. Strike where the fish will be in the next few heartbeats.”

She admitted that she was impressed by the concentration in his stiff form, the seriousness in his gaze as he studied the river with a fierce intensity. She could imagine him as a bright young apprentice, eager to learn and to please. Could see him rise up in ranks as quickly as the seasons passed. Now and again a minnow’s tail would splash, flicking up droplets, but the tom remained still with his paw poised. One could mistake him for a cat of stone. She couldn’t even tell if he was breath g, just see the muscles flexing beneath his smooth, thick fur. With a start, she realized that she was holding her breath.

_ SPLASH! _

A dark brown blur. Quicker than lightning. A power that made her gasp. Water rose, unfurled like big sparkling petals, blocking her view momentarily. In the next instant, he was sitting on his haunches, absolutely drenched, coughing bitterly.

Leopardstar laughed. “Harder than it looks, isn’t it? Told you you wouldn’t get anything on your first try.”

“Shut up,” he growled, but it couldn’t dampen her mood. The sight of the big tom with his fur as soggy as a raincloud gave her the image of a pitiful mouse. She snickered again. 

“You  _ are  _ a good mentor, though.”

That stopped her in mid-laughter. Her ears pricked up in surprise, and she wondered if she’d misheard.

He gave his chest fur a few quick licks, avoiding her eyes. “Don’t make me say that again.”

She studied him for a few heartbeats, then shivered. The cold was getting to her, and now the thought of a den warmed her from the inside. The headache pounded behind her eyes.  _ Great StarClan, I need a nap. _

She hadn’t realized how weary she looked until Heavystep asked, “Shall we go back?”

She nodded. Heavystep and Dawnpaw stepped forward to flank her on either side, but she shook her head. “I can walk fine on my own.”

Suddenly, Dawnpaw perked up. “What’s that smell?”

She tasted the air. Nothing but frost, fish, the air rife with birds, and --

Her blood ran cold. Breath caught in her throat. A dizzying spell took hold of her.

_ Featherpaw and Stormpaw and the kits!  _ What were they doing so far from the island?

“Are you alright, Leopardstar?” Heavystep asked with concern, touching his nose to her shoulder.

Tigerstar glowered. “Smells like intruders,” he growled. “Not from TigerClan or BloodClan. Dawnpaw, take Leopardstar back to camp and --”

“No, I’m staying with you.” She staggered to her paws and shot him a withering glare. “Just because I’m expecting doesn’t make me any less able to fight.” She hoped no one heard the trembling in her voice. “Heavystep, Dawnpaw, run and alert the camp. Send three more warriors out here. I think there could be more intruders than we realize.”

The two nodded and sped away.  _ Now, how am I supposed to get rid of this mouse-brained tom? _

He narrowed his eyes. “What makes you think that?”

“I can smell them. Are you going to stand there all day? Or perhaps they’ll gladly stroll out of our territory in their own time.”

He hissed and took off running. She loped after him, and was dismayed to find herself short of breath.

_ Come on! _

Gritting her teeth, she pressed forward until she was nearly at his tail, her paws thudding the ground like a rabbit’s. She wheezed. Ignoring the hot flare that seared her stomach, she forced herself on faster. Then faster still. 

“I scent them to the right, in the thickets over there!” she gasped, hoping her voice was loud enough for any nearby cats to hear. “I’ll circle around to trap them and chase them towards you.”

“I don’t smell anythi—“

With as much strength left in her body as she could muster, she butted his shoulder, nearly sending them both careening. 

“Just go!” Her voice was hoarse, each inhale feeling like embers scratching her throat. Thankfully, Tigerstar obeyed.

It was only when he had disappeared over the ridge did she stop running. She collapsed onto the grass, sides heaving, ugly gasps wrenching themselves from her lungs. It seemed she couldn’t get enough air. Her limbs were as heavy as boulders and her brain was roaring, on fire, hot flashes dancing in her vision.

_ Hot! Too hot. I’m burning up. _

“Leopardstar?”

A small, frightened voice.

_ Am I imagining things? _

Unable to move, she rolled her eyes over to the voice. Four heads popped into view. She squinted harshly, trying hard to remember over the dull thudding of her heart.

“F-Featherpaw? Storm...And you kits are supposed…to be...hiding,” she gulped in between panting. Too tired to be angry. Too tired to do anything but close her eyes and sleep.

“Stormpaw, no! We have to get help!”

“I-I don’t know what to do! Didn’t you see Tigerstar running over there?”

_ Tigerstar. _

At this, her eyes snapped open. She struggled to her paws, wheezing all the way.

“No, Leopardstar, you have to stay down!” Featherpaw pleaded, blue eyes round and scared.

The golden she-cat only shook her off and snarled, “What are you...doing here? Mistyfoot?”

_ StarClan, if anything happens to them I’ll— _

Stormpaw shook his head. “Mistyfoot’s not coming back, so we decided to head off on our own. W-we were planning on going the same way she did but got lost a-and—“

A loud yowl cut him off. Leopardstar froze, blood curdling with terror. Tigerstar was nowhere to be seen. But deep in the thicket came the sound of fighting.

“Move!” She pushed Stormpaw, hard. “You have to get away. Run! Far from here!” Fear etched its way into her voice.

“Leopardstar!” Featherpaw cried, trembling like a leaf.

Squeezing her eyes shut, she forced herself up. Her body felt as heavy as a badger’s, bloated and clumsy. 

The five of them started running again, the two apprentices in the lead, Primrosekit and Reedkit dangling awkwardly from their jaws, with Leopardstar limping behind them. To any cat who saw, it would seem as though she was chasing them. Or so she hoped.

They were surging toward Fourtrees when a dark shape leapt from the bushes with a furious cry. She had enough time to register a gray pelt—yellow eyes— before being tackled to the ground. Thorn-sharp claws sank into her sides. The sky became the ground, the ground the sky. Endless rolling, grass flying. The burning sun, then dirt, then sun again and tree branches against a vast, stark blueness. 

Then she was staring into a face twisted in rage.

She couldn’t quite believe it. Maybe her brains had been boggled by the fall.

She dared herself to speak. “...Graystripe?”

Whiskers scratched her ear as a cold voice hissed, “ _ Never _ come near my kits again.”

The claws in her ribs pressed harder. Little pinpricks of pain. She winced.

“Graystripe, wait—“ 

The tom shot a glance upward, then sprang away. His hind legs pushed against her belly and she yowled in pain, her vision clouding and narrowing  until all she could see was a patch of blue-gray sky.

She wasn’t sure how long it took for the world to stop spinning, for the ringing in her ears to dim. The light hurt her eyes.

“Leopardstar? Leopardstar, can you hear me?”

It was Russetfur. Beside her was Tigerstar and their warriors: Heavystep, Dawnpaw, Loudbelly, and Boulder. 

Tigerstar nosed her. “Get up,” he commanded. “You’re not hurt.”

Leopardstar winced, conscious of their worried looks burning into her fur. Heavystep and Loudbelly hurried forward to help her, but she heaved herself upward on her own.

She coughed. “I’m just winded, is all. What happened to those intruders?”

“They were ThunderClanners,” Boulder said, spitting out the word like a piece of crowfood. “Or what’s left of them, anyway. I recognized Sandstorm, Dustpelt, Cloudtail, and Brackenfur.”

Russetfur asked anxiously, “I thought they had all died. Or at least been driven out forever.”

Tigerstar’s amber eyes smoldered, and a shadow crossed his face. “Obviously the dead refuse to stay dead. What happened was a coordinated attack. An ambush. They think they can beat us.”

When no mention of Featherpaw or Stormpaw was made, Leopardstar relaxed. They hadn’t been spotted and, hopefully, were now safe with the ThunderClan survivors. But what had Stormpaw meant with Mistyfoot not coming back..?

Tigerstar continued, “There’s probably more of them. They’ve found a place to hide. We’ve gotten careless. From now on, there will be more patrols, more cats on high alert. We can’t let any more of those weaklings slip through our paws.”

Loudbelly cut through with a loud gasp. 

“Leopardstar is bleeding!”

A bloody gash trickled bright red on her belly. Graystripe hadn’t been delicate in trying to scamper away. They tried to crowd around her but she ducked away.  _ I’m not some helpless old elder! _

“It doesn’t hurt. Stop fussing, all of you.”

What she wanted now was a soft mossy nest to sink into.

“Lean on my shoulder,” Tigerstar instructed. “I’ll get you home.”

She was much too tired to protest, and let her weight fall onto the tabby tom.

“We’ll make them pay for this,” a cat growled. The others murmured in agreement.

She closed her eyes.  _ Please, StarClan. Keep them safe, wherever they are.  _

Her heart was a few beats lighter.  ThunderClan was alive. There was still hope in the forest after all.


	4. Chapter 4

The snow fell softly in the night. It didn’t come with howling winds or blinding gusts; instead, the fluffy flakes drifted downward like droves of soft feathers.

Tigerstar, Leopardstar, and Blackfoot led the group toward Fourtrees. 

Ever so often, Tigerstar would quietly mew, “Careful, there’s a drift,” or “Don’t trip over that branch,” which annoyed her to no end. Littlecloud’s amused expression withered when she shot him a glare.

The walk was an uneventful one. 

BloodClan was the first to arrive; their murmurs died down when TigerClan emerged from the snow-lined trees. Hard eyes glittered in the night. Cats crouched beneath bushes, atop tree branches, or huddled together in pairs. Unlike from before the battle, their scrawny, patched pelts were now sleek and well-groomed. 

Her Clanmates made no move to bound toward them or share the news of prey; instead they regarded each other with hesitant silence. The air hung thick with an uneasiness.

Suddenly, she gasped.

In an instant, Tigerstar was at her side.

“What is it?”

“I feel...strange.”

It was as though a butterfly had flapped its wings in her stomach. Like a ripple from a drop of water.

“I think,” she said breathlessly, “I can feel the kits moving inside me.”

It was an odd sensation, but not necessarily a bad one, to be reminded of the tiny, growing things stretching and sleeping away beneath her fur. 

Tigerstar’s face softened.

“Come. The Gathering is about to begin.”

Blackfoot settled himself at the foot of the Great Rock and mewed a greeting to Bone, an enormous black and white tom. Scourge was already poised on top. The snowflakes caught on his fur looked like fallen stars, but the glisten of claws in his collar sharpened his image and brought out the fierceness in his eyes.

_ Please let me make this jump,  _ Leopardstar thought anxiously.  _ I can’t look like a fool in front of every cat. _

Hooking her claws onto the nearest ledge, she heaved her chest onto it and scrabbled for a hold with her back legs. Pebbles rained down on the cats below. It was only when Tigerstar grabbed hold of her scruff was she able to haul her hindquarters up the rest of the way. She gave her chest fur a couple of licks, her pelt burning red-hot with embarrassment. Did she catch a few snickers from the crowd?

“I will begin this Gathering,” Tigerstar meowed. His voice rang boldly around the clearing. “Leopardstar is now my mate, and we are expecting a new litter of kits for TigerClan.”

What happy mews and congratulatory yowls came only from ShadowClan. She scuffled her paws at the disapproval from her own Clanmates’ gazes. The weight of their unspoken words was suffocating.

“And another thing to report,” Tigerstar continued. “We have gotten into a skirmish with a few ThunderClan cats that we thought were dead. I suggest increasing the number of patrols from both of us.”

He dipped his head, acknowledging Scourge’s turn. The sleek black tom stepped forward. He was almost comically small, no bigger than Dawnpaw. Even the moons of forest hunting couldn’t erase the reek of Twolegplace from his pelt.

And the scent of it suddenly made her dizzy. That smell...it was the same one in her dream. Of damp and dank and musty dark places far below ground. There had been a queen there, and others…

Scourge flicked his tail, and the BloodClanners leaned eagerly forward.

“BloodClan has nothing to report. There is a lot of prey. My cats are happy. What else is there to say?”

Unexpectedly, he turned to Tigerstar. “These Gatherings are a waste of time. They are of no use to me.”

_ How dare he!  _ Leopardstar bristled. “These Gatherings have been a Clan tradition for thousands of moons!” she argued. “They are sacred!”

A few warriors below yowled their approval. The BloodClan cats whispered furiously amongst themselves like rats. A few sheathed and then unsheathed their claws. Blackfoot’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

Tigerstar raised his tail for silence. He meowed, “I understand your concern, Scourge. But these Gatherings are needed to share important news.”

“Then when I have news, I will gladly send my cats along to tell you,” he rasped. “You and your Clan may blabber here all you want during the full moon, but from now on, BloodClan will keep to themselves.”

An outcry burst free from the crowd. Several cats sprang to their paws.

“You can’t do that!” Oakfur yelled. “You can’t just turn Fourtrees into a regular hunting ground!”

Beside him, Blackclaw and Darkflower yowled their agreement. 

Leopardstar rounded on the two leaders. “You are a mouse-brained fool,” she hissed at Scourge. “Gatherings are a part of what it means to be a warrior. It is written in the code itself!”

“Leopardstar—,” Tigerstar warned.

She unsheathed her claws and bared her teeth. “You may fight like a lion in battle, as brave as any Clan leader, but you will  _ never  _ know the true meaning of being a warrior!”

Silence fell upon the clearing, save for a quiet chorus of hissing. The forest cats faced off BloodClan, backs arched and claws unsheathed. BloodClan spat back, but most were seated calmly, staring up expectantly at their leader.

_ Scrape, scrape, scrape. _

Like stone against stone.

Scourge’s dog claws tapped thoughtfully against the rock, as though he were thinking of sinking them into someone’s pelt. 

If it was possible for eyes to be colder than ice, his was it. They were piercingly sharp, as though they saw straight through her  to her very heart. Staring into them made coldness travel down her spine

_ Don’t look away.  _ She matched his stare, glowering.

“I like your passion,” he finally mewed, his voice like ice splintering. “Such dedication in protecting something you love.” He surveyed the clearing and nodded. “The Gathering is over.”

He leapt from the Great Rock and signaled to BloodClan. As though pulled by a string, the cats immediately retreated without hesitation, dozens of them streaming quietly back into the shadows. In a few moments, they had gone. 

Before there was time to react—to move, to see, to breath, even— Tigerstar had slammed her into the ground. His claws were sheathed, but the force of it drove the wind from her lungs, made her gasp. It was useless to push him off. No matter how hard her hind legs kicked, his weight was as unmovable as a boulder. It crushed her ribs.

Mudfur gasped, “What are you doing?”

Heaveystep had rounded on Darkstripe, snarling. Nearby, Blackclaw and Boulder were facing off. RiverClan against ShadowClan. A great divide stretched between them.

“No, don’t fight,” Leopardstar wheezed. She winced.

Tigerstar leaned in close. His breath was wet and musty. “That was out of line,” he growled. “You could broken our agreement with BloodClan.”

She struggled to breathe, managing to gasp out, “You expected me to let him go without reprimand? We were here in the forest  _ first _ , Tigerstar. He needs to learn his place.”

“As you, yours.”

A flash of fear. He wouldn’t dare kill her...would he? She had nine lives, but would he be so foolhardy as to rip one out of her?

A small, timid voice. “Let her go, please.”

They both swung their heads to look in the direction of a trembling apprentice.

Tawnypaw raised her chin. “She understands her lesson. We all do. Now let her go. Please.”

Despite herself, Leopardstar couldn’t help but marvel at her bravery.  _ If only she’d been born in RiverClan. _

After some hesitance, the weight lifted from her shoulders. The dark tom leapt from the Rock and signaled with his tail. “What’re you lot waiting for? Let’s go.”

At once, her warriors clustered around her.

“Did he hurt you?” Shadepelt demanded sharply.

Blackclaw tore at the snow beneath his claws. “If I got a hold of him, I’d—“

“I’m fine,” she replied, heaving to her paws. Her heart ached at their loyalty. “No need to defend me. Remember that he is your leader as well.”

Heavystep was dismayed. “But—“

She cut him off. “You have to prove your loyalty to TigerClan, whether you want to or not. For your own safety, and for mine.”

The she-cat struggled a few pawsteps forward, then collapsed, panting. 

In an instant, Mudfur was at her side. 

“Heavystep, support her other shoulder,” he commanded. “Shadepelt, make a path in the snow for us. The rest of you, get going before Blackfoot asks why we’re taking so long.”

“That mangy snakeheart can freeze to death for all I care,” Shadepelt muttered.

“Did you see the moon tonight, though?” Heavystep asked nervously. “I can’t remember if it had always been cloudy, or if—“

“If StarClan is angry, then there is no one to blame but me,” Leopardstar said wearily. They looked at her, shocked.

“You can’t mean that,” Heavystep said. “You only wanted what was best for us.” The others mewed their agreement.

She shook her head sadly. “I don’t deserve your loyalty. If I had chosen to join LionClan instead, then maybe Firestar and the others would still be alive. Maybe we would have won.” 

“Or Tigerstar would have ripped us all to shreds himself,” Mudfur interjected. “Enough of this nonsense. It’s time to get you to a warm den. You look like you’re freezing your whiskers off.”

Her breath came in frosty wisps that disappeared into the cold night air. Each step felt like an eternity, her paws heavy as stone. But not as heavy as the regret that weighed deep in her heart, aching in her belly, her legs.

By the time they got back, most of the cats were slumbering away in their nests. Yet, the air buzzed with a mingling of fear and excitement.

Leopardstar pushed Shadepelt and Heavystep off and struggled to stand on her own. 

“What’s happening?” she demanded. 

From his den, Darkstripe emerged, yawning. “Mosspelt is kitting. Or she was, some time ago--”

A low, drawn-out wail floated from the nursery, sounding in all the world like that of a dying swan’s. A sorrowful emptiness that broke her heart.

“And there it goes,” Darkstripe muttered, before retreating back into the den.

Ignoring the pain of her joints, Leopardstar rushed over to the nursery. Shouldering the medicine cats away, she halted at the entrance and was greeted with the sight of Tallpoppy huddled with her kits in the corner. Mosspelt was furiously licking at four wet bundles of fur. They were so tiny, so fragile, no bigger than mice. 

“They won’t wake up!” Mosspelt cried. She wailed again, and the sound of it made Leopardstar want to run and cover her ears. Never before could she imagine so much sadness in a cat’s cry. 

Littlecloud stammered, “W-We tried our best, I swear. But one was born still, and the others are so sickly.” On Runningnose’s face was a look of deep anguish.

“Let me help,” Leopardstar mewed gently. When they made no reply, as though they hadn’t heard, she reached over and, as softly as she could, lapped at one small, furry head. 

It was a dark brown tabby, its body still and unmoving. She licked at it, slowly at first, then much more rapidly as she felt desperation build in her chest. Its fur warmed at her touch, as soft as feathers.

_ Breathe for me, little one,  _ she thought.  _ You can do it. I believe in you.  _ With so much death already staining the forest, it had to live.

A few more licks. Silence.

Then--

“ _ Mew.” _

The kit twitched, once or twice. Then parted its jaws, revealing a shock of pink tongue. Leopardstar worked faster, and it began squirming and waving its paws. 

“It’s alive!” Mosspelt exclaimed. “My kit is alive!”

Leopardstar backed away as the queen drew the kit into the curve of her belly. 

“Well done,” Runningnose said, nodding to her. She nodded back, but didn’t dare speak through the sadness still prickling her eyes. 

Tallpoppy asked gently, “What will you name her?”

Mosspelt licked at the newborn’s head. A purr rumbled through her body as she replied, “Swallowkit. That’s what she will be called.”

“It’s a wonderful name,” Littlecloud agreed. 

“We can be her littermates!” Applekit squealed. “We’ll teach her lots of good moves!”

Leopardstar watched the scene with a smile curving her lips. The past few moons had brought nothing but violence and bloodshed. Stonefur’s death, then Firestar’s...The birth of a kit, no matter how small, was enough to give her hope. 

“Leopardstar.”

The voice made her spin around. It was Mudfur. What warmth she felt prickled into uneasiness when she saw the shadow cross over his face. He beckoned her away from the nursery. 

The medicine cat’s voice was solemn. 

“It is an ill omen.”

“What is?” she demanded sharply. “A healthy kit born into the Clan?”

“No. The three others who had died.” He inhaled a deep breath before continuing, “ _ In the moons to come, the forest will wither at the sickness in the Clan’s blood.” _

The words chilled her inside and out. Her legs turned to water, and she had to sit down. 

“Sickness,” she muttered. “I’ll tell the warriors to keep an eye out for any herbs that survived the frost.”

To her surprise, he shook his head. “The sickness is not greencough.” He leaned in close to her ear and rasped, “BloodClan will fester in the forest like a disease. They will do nothing but spread more pain and misery. You saw how they refused the sacred truce of the Gathering. They do nothing but spit in the face of who we are.”

Her hackles rose. “What can we do?” To her dismay, he only shook his head. 

“Can’t you tell me more?” she spat. “You daft old medicine cat. What use are your skills if you can’t help my Clan?” The fear and desperation morphed into an anger that tasted like poison on her tongue. 

She was frightened. Frightened of her own future with her kits, and of her Clan’s. 

“I know what to do,” she said at last, her voice quaking. “We have to travel to Mothermouth.” It would be the first time since the battle. 

Mudfur didn’t protest. He didn’t say anything. Perhaps he had given up on seeking StarClan for answers, as she almost had.

_ And I have to see Featherpaw and Stormpaw again. And find Mistyfoot.  _

Without wasting another breath, she dashed to the leaders’ den and shook Tigerstar awake. 

“Hrmph...Hmm?” The great tom cracked open an eye. “Are we being attacked?”

“I have to go to Mothermouth,” she meowed breathlessly. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. “I’m taking Mudfur with me, and there is absolutely nothing you can do to stop us. This is more important than you think, and if I have to prove to you that I am strong enough to handle the journey, then I will fight you right here and now.”

She finished, panting harshly, and fixed him with the hardest glare that she could muster. 

His eyes narrowed into slits. He regarded her quietly before replying, “Is this because of the Gathering? It's no matter what BloodClan says. Whether or not we go to Fourtrees every moon doesn't make us any less than of a warrior. You realize how mouse-brained it is to be traveling in the snow in such a state.”

“But I’ll have Mudfur with me!”

“Then I’ll come too.”

“Oh, Tigerstar,” she said desperately. “StarClan hasn’t spoken to me for so long that I’m afraid they’re ignoring me on purpose. And who knows how many ThunderClan cats are on the prowl. If they ambushed us once, they’ll do it again. Once they realize you’re gone, they’ll be bold enough to attack the camp.”

He circled her slowly, muscles rippling beneath his shoulders. Part of her was reminded of how one stalked a mouse. It appeared that he was pondering something behind those glittering amber eyes. 

And then she realized what she must do.  _ Crookedstar, please forgive me. _

She took in a deep breath. Closed her eyes. And gave him a soft lick on his forehead. Stretched against his chest and rubbed her head beneath his chin.

“I’ll be just fine,” she purred. “I know you worry a lot. But I’ll have my medicine cat with me. If I wait any longer, the snow will be too deep to walk in.”

She drew away. “You forget that I’m just as capable of a warrior as you are. Crookedstar didn’t choose me as his deputy for nothing.”

The bewilderment on his face was evident, as stark as lightning against storm clouds. It was almost comical, the look of a cat with its tail tied in a knot. His eyes were as round as moons.

“And you think this journey is absolutely necessary?” he asked, blinking. She couldn’t help but wonder if he was struggling to keep his tough, mean demeanor. 

“Yes. I need to know my destiny.”

_ Whatever that means. _

He regarded her quietly. 

“I need you back safe and in one piece,” he mewed softly, and brushed his tail against her flank. She willed herself to keep still and not back away. 

“So take some warriors with you.”

Her eyes widened with alarm. “I-I can’t. ThunderClan--”

“Your safety is more important,” he growled. “At least take Darkstripe with you.”

_ Not him! Any cat but him! _

“He--”

“I’ll go.”

The quiet voice was familiar. Leopardstar turned to see the tortoiseshell apprentice at the opening of the den.

“I have to find Bramblepaw and Goldenflower,” she mewed softly. “If anyone can talk to them, it’s me.”

Tigerstar hesitated. “Are you sure you’re up to it?”

Tawnypaw nodded, then lowered her gaze and scuffled her paws awkwardly.

Leopardstar added, “If we bring any more cats, it’ll look like we’re planning an attack. It’s best to tread softly.”

Tigerstar nodded. “Then it’s decided. You will set out tomorrow morning. The quicker you get going, the quicker you’ll return.”

“Thank you, Tigerstar.” She dipped her head gratefully. Inwardly, she could hardly contain herself. A whole journey lay ahead of her, treacherous with its hidden dangers. 

And what of Tawnypaw? She glanced at her out of the corner of her eye. The she-cat was still avoiding her gaze, studying her paws meekly.

How could she slip away without the ShadowClan cat growing suspicious?

_ Crookedstar, please watch over me. _


	5. Chapter 5

The snow fell continually throughout the night. By morning, it was a thick cover that blanketed every tree and bush with a pure whiteness that glittered beneath the morning sky. Everything seemed to have stopped to a standstill, as though the earth was holding its breath. No birds trilled. No wind blew. Even the sky, a shade of hard gray, seemed frozen.

Tigerstar bade them farewell. “Are you sure you don’t need me?”

“As sure as the fleas in my pelt,” she muttered, out of earshot.

Mosspelt touched noses. “May StarClan light your path,” she purred. The golden she-cat blinked at her gratefully.

The trek out of camp was a silent one.  _ Crunch, crunch, crunch,  _ went their paws in the new snow. Each breath they took trailed upward in foggy wisps. Tigerstar followed them as far as Sunningrocks, then rubbed his cheek against her muzzle in a final farewell.

“Stay safe,” he meowed before pulling away. She gave him a stiff nod. He did the same to Tawnypaw, and whispered to her words that she couldn’t pick up. Then, turning to Mudfur, they began the journey. It was only when she could no longer feel the tom’s eyes burning into her spine did she visibly relax. 

They didn’t speak. Some words did not need to be said. Instead, they walked close enough together that their fur brushed, and ever so often, Mudfur’s tail would flick against her side. 

Tawnypaw trailed far behind, head low and focused on her paws as though they were the most fascinating thing she had ever seen. Immediately, Leopardstar regarded her with suspicion. No doubt the tortoiseshell was acting as some sort of spy. Obviously Tigerstar didn’t trust her. Was there a way to slip away, where the apprentice would be left behind?

The edges of the river had froze overnight, though the middle ran fast and free. Leopardstar passed the stepping stones with practiced ease, followed by Mudfur close after. 

A cry of terror shattered the peaceful silence. 

Leopardstar whipped around, cursing under her breath, knowing full well what had happened. 

“Mudfur!”

“On it.”

The brown blur whizzed past into the water, diving in with a loud splash. Then nothing but the river gurgling along. In the next instant, Mudfur’s slicked head bobbed against the current, urging the apprentice closer to shore with her scruff in his mouth.

Tawnypaw flailed wildly until she grabbed hold of the bank and collapsed in a puddle, coughing. Her sides heaved. 

“Pathetic,” Leopardstar said. “Can’t you be more careful? Every cat knows that the stones are slippery when wet.”

The apprentice said nothing, only laid there in a pitiful heap of soggy fur.

Mudfur lapped at her vigorously.

“Help me dry her off,” he said. “In a state like this, she’ll catch her death of a cold.”

“Serves her right,” she muttered, but crouched down and copied Mudfur’s movements.

When she was dry enough, they continued on their way, with the apprentice lagging far behind and shivering so hard her teeth chattered.

The island was just over the ridge. Leopardstar nodded to Mudfur. “You two stay here,” she ordered. “I’ll check if this is the right way.” Bunching up her muscles, she cleared the small hill and surveyed the area.

The water around the hidden island had froze. Gingerly, she tapped it with a paw. When the ice held, she carefully skirted across and hesitantly peered into the den. Her excitement gave way to bitter disappointment. It was empty save for a few stray bones and cobwebs. Their scents lingered faintly, and a sorrow gripped her as she breathed in the fading remnants of Mistyfoot’s smell. 

At least the apprentices were safe with Graystripe. With a mournful sigh, she turned and padded away. She was just starting to cross the frozen water when a rustling made her freeze. She immediately spun around with her claws out.

“I’m warning you—“ she started.

But those pawsteps sounded far too small for the average BloodClan rogue. What—

Featherpaw and Stormpaw burst out of the thicket with gleeful expressions. “Leopardstar!” they cried.

Before she even had time to recognize them, she was flat on her back with the two apprentices squirming all over her. 

“What?” she gasped. “I thought you were with Graystripe!”

“They are.”

She peered over the wriggling pelts and saw Graystripe and Sandstorm emerge from hiding. Unlike the last time she had seen the tom, he was now calmer and had the fur of his back lying down, though he looked ragged and worn.

“Featherpaw and Stormpaw told me of how you, Mudfur, and Mistyfoot took care of them.” He dipped his head. “Forgive me for attacking you.”

“All is forgiven.”

Sandstorm added sadly, “Mistyfoot made a noble sacrifice.”

Leopardstar hoisted herself up, sadness engulfing her. “May I see her burial place?” she whispered.

Featherpaw and Stormpaw glanced at each other.

Stormpaw scuffled his paws on the ground. “No cat’s seen her for over a moon. There’s no proof that she’s...dead...but—“

Leopardstar rounded on him, snarling. “If so, then Mistyfoot. Is. Not. Dead.”

Graystripe pushed the terrified apprentices behind him and bristled.

Sandstorm mewed gently, “There are dangerous things out there, Leopardstar, things that can take out even the bravest and noblest of cats. Rogues, foxes, badgers, monsters…”

She rested her tail tip on her shoulder. “No cat here doubted her strength, courage, and loyalty. We all miss her.”

Leopardstar backed away, shaking her head. “I refuse to believe it. I promised Crookedstar that I’d look after his Clan. I—“

Sandstorm guided her to her paws. “Come on,” she said briskly. “We’ll take you to meet the others.”

“Others?”

“LionClan has survived,” Graystripe whispered low in her ear. “We’re all hiding. There’s Dustpelt, Cloudtail, Brackenfur, and Bramblepaw.  And in WindClan—“

“WindClan is there too?” she exclaimed.

He spat, “Keep it down! Yes. There’s Mudclaw, Tornear, and Ashfoot. Of course, we’re hoping that others have survived and are hiding elsewhere”

Leopardstar could barely contain her excitement. “How did you all manage to escape?”

Graystripe’s eyes shifted to and fro. “We can’t risk talking here. Follow me. We’ll show you the way.”

“Wait. I’ve brought a few cats with me.”

“Who—?”

Mudfur pushed through the reeds. “There you are. I wondered why you were taking so long.” Then he broke off, eyes widening in disbelief. 

“You’re alive?”

“Good to see you, Mudfur,” Sandstorm mewed briskly. “But the longer we stay here, the more we risk being caught.” Suddenly, she stiffened. Her jaws parted to scent the air. 

“What--”

“We brought a flea or two along with us,” Leopardstar meowed gloomily as the small head of Tawnypaw popped into view, no doubt drawn in by curiosity.

“What’s  _ she _ doing here?” Sandstorm growled, lashing her tail angrily. Tawnypaw backed away, hackles raised and eyes scared.

“Tigerstar wouldn’t let me leave to Mothermouth without an escort,” Leopardstar replied coolly. “Believe me, I don’t want her here either.”

Sandstorm’s eyes narrowed. After a heartbeat of consideration, she mewed, “We could take her as prisoner and have Tigerstar give us what we want.”

“Enough of this talk,” Mudfur growled. “She’s only an apprentice.”

“He’s right,” Graystripe added. “Hasn’t Firestar taught you anything? We can’t judge a cat by their birthplace.” At the mention of the ThunderClan leader’s name, Sandstorm flinched and turned away. 

“Let’s go,” she muttered, and bounded off without waiting for a reply. 

Wordlessly, the rest of them followed. 

It seemed that they would be able to make the rest of the journey unhindered when, suddenly, a rotten scent made all of them halt at once.  _ BloodClan.  _

The effect was immediate: Leopardstar, Mudfur, Graystripe, and Sandstorm all started bristling, while the apprentices clustered behind them, wide-eyed. 

The only thing between them and the Twolegplace cats was the river. She glanced down at its swirling depths, her panicked mind whirling, and gestured to the others with her tail.  _ Jump in.  _ The reeds would be thick enough to hide them, she knew, and hoped they understood her madness. 

The water was achingly cold, so much that she forgot how to breathe. They stabbed her body like thorn-sharp claws. Beside her, the others violently shivered, teeth clattering like stones.

She recognized Brick, Snipe, and Scarlet. The ginger tom, Brick, skirted the reeds and scented the air, but made no move to venture into the water.

“I smell forest cats,” he rasped. “Some faint fox. And…” he let his voice trail off and narrowed his eyes.

Scarlet lashed her tail. “Intruders,” she growled. Louder, she yelled, “Show yourself! We know you’re there!”

Leopardstar cursed inwardly. Leader or not, she’d be crowfood if they found out she was sheltering a group of fugitives. She could be dragged off to face Scourge, or worse yet, Tigerstar would order Blackfoot to give her a slow and painful death. 

_ Or he’d wait until I gave birth,  _ she thought glumly.  _ Then finish the job.  _

As the time in the freezing water stretched on, her limbs thankfully grew numb until she could feel nothing from the neck down. 

Then Tawnypaw stood up. 

“What are you doing?” Sandstorm whispered furiously. 

Leopardstar prepared herself to lunge forward and hold the apprentice down, but before she could, Tawnypaw hauled herself onto the stepping stones and charged toward the rogues. Snipe had enough time to arch his back and hiss, before being pummeled to the ground by the she-cat. Brick and Scarlet immediately moved to help, then halted in shock. Tawnypaw turned around to snarl at them. Blood dripped from her jaws. Snipe did not get up. 

Brick eyed the unmoving body of the brown tom, then hissed to Scarlet: “Let’s get going.”

“But--”

“You heard me! We’ll let Scourge deal with this.” 

The two cats eyed Tawnypaw warily, and retreated back among the trees. 

Leopardstar didn’t move until they were well beyond sight. With the help of Mudfur, she hauled herself to the bank and sniffed Snipe’s body. The tom was twice as big as the apprentice was, and she could barely stifle a spark of admiration that grew in her chest. 

“Well done,” she mewed to Tawnypaw. “Who taught you those fighting moves?”

The apprentice glanced down at the ground awkwardly. “My father,” came the barely audible mew.

“Yes, well, we should go before those crowfood-eaters decide to come back,” Sandstorm grunted, and without another word, they continued on their journey. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was quiet. No one was in the mood for talking. Leopardstar found herself immersed in guilt, the shame swirling in her heart and making her paws sink into the snow with every step. How could she be so mouse-brained? She’d made the same mistake Tigerstar did: that a cat’s character was judged based on the circumstances of their birth. How foolish she’d been, treating Tawnypaw like Tigerstar’s kit instead of as an apprentice; she’d leaped in to protect them without a thought of her own safety. If it hadn’t been for her, Leopardstar would have been caught among the ThunderClan cats, and the word would spread like wildfire. Tawnypaw had saved her life in more ways than one. She wondered if she herself were turning into a cat like Tigerstar, and curled up among her companions for another restless night.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It took two more days to reach the barn, partly because Leopardstar found it more and more difficult to travel through the thick snow, and also because the scent of BloodClan made everyone as jumpy as mice.

Graystripe scratched at the thick wooden door. There was a hush from deep inside, and a pair of hostile blue eyes glared at them from the darkness. They blinked and grew softer, and a voice rumbled, “You made it back.”

Graystripe lead the way, his purr answering that of a big, black and white tom. 

Leopardstar, Mudfur, and Tawnypaw stopped at the entrance, overwhelmed by the smell of dust, hay, and wood. 

Graystripe nodded to each cat that peered cautiously out from the corners. “This loner is named Barley, and Ravenpaw is my friend from ThunderClan. Here’s Cloudtail, Brackenfur, Bramblepaw, Dustpelt, Tornear, Mudclaw, and Ashfoot.”

At the sight of each other, Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw met in a flurry of licks and purrs. Ashfoot, the swell of her belly filled with unborn kits, peered warily from a ledge above them. Primrosekit and Reedkit were settled beside her. Leopardstar noticed that though they all looked well-fed, their eyes were haunted with all they had seen. With a pang of sadness, she remembered that Mistyfoot would not be joining them. 

Ravenpaw said kindly, “Make yourself comfortable, there’s plenty of room. Feel free to hunt for mice whenever you feel like it.”

“How long are you all staying here?” Mudfur asked, to which Cloudtail muttered darkly, “As long as it takes.”

Leaving Mudfur to fill the others in on all that had happened since Tigerstar’s victory, Leopardstar awkwardly approached Tawnypaw and Bramblepaw. 

The apprentice had grown since the last time she’d seen him, facing down his father at the battle between LionClan and TigerClan. No longer a kit, yet not quite big enough for a fully-grown warrior.

Before she could speak, Bramblepaw asked, “How is Tigerstar?”

Was it a challenge? Leopardstar searched his amber eyes and found nothing but a deep, quiet sadness. 

“H-He’s doing well,” she stammered.

As though sensing her shame, a spark of ferocity flashed in his amber eyes. A jolt ran down her spine. For a moment she thought she’d seen Tigerstar in them. 

“I am my own cat. I’ve already chosen who to fight for, and am as loyal to ThunderClan as you were to yours,” he meowed coldly. 

She nodded stiffly. Once again, she was awash in guilt. She mustn’t let Tigerstar’s thinking take hold of her. 

She turned to the others. “I have to get going.”

Ravenpaw blinked. “But you just got here!”

“I know Mistyfoot is out there somewhere. And I can’t stay here snacking on mice while my Clanmates are in trouble.”

Cloudtail began to bristle. “Are you accusing us of abandoning our Clan? We’re not lazing about in here, you know! I’d go back if I knew where they all were.”

Mudfur laid his tail against the youngster’s back. “Ravenpaw is right, Leopardstar. The snow out there makes for hard traveling, and we’ve been trekking for a long while. We’ll gather our strength tonight and then leave tomorrow.”

Leopardstar sighed tiredly at the old tom, and resigned to laying down on the prickly hay. Silently, Mudfur curled up next to her and closed his eyes. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------

When Leopardstar started out the next morning, she went alone. 

Ashfoot had started kitting during the night, and Mudfur refused to leave her side. When the first rays of dawn trickled through the barn’s cracks, the queen still hadn’t made any progress. The air in the barn was stifling, holding its breath, and it was a relief for her to step into the cooled, quiet morning snow. 

It was midday by the time she made it to Mothermouth. Her body was seized by hunger, and she could almost feel the movement of tiny paws within her belly, batting at her ribs. 

_ Not long now, little ones.  _

The hard rocks cut into her pads. She limped into the opening that yawned in the cliff face, nothing but a pitch blackness staring at her from deep inside. 

Instantly, she was swallowed up in darkness. There came the smell of rubble and dust and damp, growing things. A faint essence of cats, ones who had come here long before her. Her pelt brushed against rock on both sides, and at some places were the tunnel narrowed so that she could barely get by, she could almost imagine the cave crushing her like an ant. 

There was a peculiar feeling of not being alone. She felt the pressure of eyes all around her, regarding her silently. The eyes of StarClan? Or something else entirely?

Right before her heart could burst out her chest, the walls came apart and she could see now, the cave lit up dimly by the Moonstone. Legs weak and shivering, she edged forward and pressed her nose against the surface.

The coldness of the Moonstone burned like fire from nose to tail tip, but quite suddenly, a certain calm washed over her. It felt as though her problems were floating away down a river. As though she were  _ free. _

When she opened her eyes again, she was no longer crouched at the foot of a dark and musty cave, but out in the open beneath a swath of blinking stars. Chest-high grass waved with the wind, stretching out as far as the eye could see. The scent of violets hung heavy in the air. Insects buzzed sleepily. 

There, standing before her, was a black tom. He looked like--

“Whiteclaw!” Leopardstar cried joyously. 

When he turned, her happiness instantly vanished. The cat wasn’t Whiteclaw. He wasn’t any Clan cat, as far as she could tell: his body was scrawny, as though he hadn’t eaten well in days, and his fur was thin and patchy. She tensed when he came toward her, and realized that he walked  _ through  _ her, as though she weren’t there at all. 

She wasn’t in StarClan. This was the Twolegplace, overrun with Twoleg rubbish and mangy rogues. 

Why was she  _ here?  _ Didn’t StarClan want to speak with her?

“Crookedstar!” she called desperately. The cats didn’t react to her cries. She might as well be a speck on the wall.

“Please, I need your help! Tigerstar wants me and my Clan to serve him. But now I see the mistakes of my actions. I don’t know how to save RiverClan.”

It was no use. StarClan wasn’t here. She was completely and utterly alone. 


	6. Chapter 6

When Leopardstar woke once more, the stone in her heart had not lifted; if anything, it only felt as despairing as ever. She studied the softly glowing rock. Waited a few heartbeats more. But when nothing else happened, she huffed and turned away. 

Once again, unseen eyes prickled her pelt from the shadows. The walls hugged her sides until she could all but struggle to pull free from the earth, and the disgusting earth stench filled her nostrils. Panic fluttered in her chest like a dying bird. 

Sprinting now. The walls grew narrower. Was this the right way? She couldn’t see. Which way was out? Which way--

And then, as though a blessing from StarClan, her paws felt the bitter sting of snow and her nose was filled with the scent of leaf-bare sky. Leopardstar sat back on her haunches and wheezed as noisily as a dog, trying to get her breath back. Thank goodness I wasn’t trapped. 

She could smell it even before her mind recognized what it was. 

The crunching of frost underpaw. 

Then--

“Well, well, well. If it isn’t the traitor.”

Leopardstar could recognize that obnoxious, needling voice anywhere. 

“Darkstripe,” she growled, fixing him a hard glare. If she had panicked in the tunnels before, now her heart was positively hammering. She tried not to show it. 

Especially not when Blackfoot stalked into view from the other side, cutting off any escape. 

Darkstripe sneered, “What a mouse-brained fool you are, Leopardstar. Whatever you were trying to do, whatever you thought you could accomplish, led us straight to your little secret in the barn.”

The barn.

Where Mudfur and Graystripe and the others were hiding. Where they thought they had been safe for so long, and now Leopardstar, stupid Leopardstar, had ruined everything. 

“T-Tawnypaw and Bramblepaw had nothing to do with this,” she replied.   
Her teeth were chattering. Why was she so cold? 

“Tawnypaw saved me from those BloodClan cats. A-And I heard them, they wanted to tell Tigerstar about this too, but I wanted to stop them and that’s why I was in Mothermouth--” 

She was rambling, and she wasn’t even sure if they understood the words that came pouring out her mouth like slippery fish.

In the furthest reaches of her mind, there rose the question of why, why, why Tigerstar had sent these two cats out to follow her. Hadn’t he trusted her? Hadn’t he said so? What about those shy smiles he sometimes shared, that warm gaze that he had only for her? Had he had that little faith in her after all?

“We actually weren’t expecting much,” Darkstripe continued, arching his back in a luxurious stretch. “‘Follow Tawnypaw to see if she’s ready to become a warrior,’ he said. Well,” he rumbled, his yellow eyes sliding over to regard the trembling she-cat.

“What we didn’t expect was seeing you lot travel with those half-Clanners. Then that tussel back there with BloodClan. My, won’t Tigerstar be mighty proud to learn that his kit took down a cat all by herself. And then that heartwarming scene of reuniting with the lost ThunderClan cats. How many crimes was that, anyway, Blackfoot?”

Blackfoot didn’t respond. He only regarded Leopardstar with a cool, calm gaze. What he could be thinking, she didn’t know. 

Darkstripe laughed. It wasn’t a pretty sound. “And you, Leopardstar, you led us straight to them. This was all your fault. We’re gonna report this back to Tigerstar, and I will relish in seeing those traitors torn to pieces.”

Leopardstar didn’t wait for him to let loose his bloodcurdling laughter any longer. Anger filled her veins. For what, for who, she didn’t know. All she understood was that the world went red, blood sang in her ears, and a strength she didn’t know she had filled her haunches. 

Darkstripe’s gloating transformed into a shocked yowl when she launched her entire weight at him. Claws met fur. Then the feeling of something ripping, of something wet. The stench of blood. She knew this old dance. Always the battles, the angry screeching, the terror of the fight.   
Darkstripe’s claw sliced through the haze in her mind. A sharp pain in her leg, and then she had pulled away, reeling. 

The tom scrambled to his paws. There was a bright red gash on his shoulder, and his eyes were wide.

“Traitor!” he spat again. “The whole Clan will know what you did!” He turned tail and fled, far too fast for Leopardstar to follow. She could only watch him with her fearful eyes, her breath coming fast and shallow, a wail of despair welling up in her throat. 

Darkstripe didn’t make it far, though. With a furious flurry of hissing, he was taken down by two cats. Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw, she realized. They pressed down on the warrior’s shoulders. He was squirming hard - he’d be free before they knew it. 

“Blackfoot!” he cried, twisting his head in an attempt to look backward. “Help me!”

Blackfoot started toward him, but Leopardstar meowed desperately, “Bramblepaw, Tawnypaw, let him go. It’s already over.”

When the apprentices exchanged uncertain glances, she continued, “There’s nothing else we can do.”

Darkstripe squirmed free from their paws and fled, hissing angrily. They watched as he grew smaller and smaller, first a gray fleck against the white hills, then to nothingness in the distance. 

At once, Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw were at her side. The dark brown tom hissed a warning at Blackfoot, while his sister desperately lapped at her wounds. Leopardstar let herself lay there in a tired heap. 

Now she just felt numb. Hollow. As though she were no longer a part of her body, but just a spirit on the wind. She couldn’t even feel the sting of the cold, or Tawnypaw’s tongue on her fur. 

It was Blackfoot’s voice that spoke first. 

“You were right on one thing, Leopardstar.”

Her ear twitched. 

“There really is nothing else you can do.”

The white tom regarded her for a few moments longer. In his eyes, she could only see death. The same eyes that saw Stonefur die, rip the life away from him as easily as from a mouse or squirrel. If he wanted to, he could end her right here. Watch her bleed out onto the snow with that cool amber gaze, just as Stonefur once had before her. 

But he turned and began to pad away.   
She felt a faint stirring of surprise. 

“You’re not going to kill me?” she croaked, hating how small her voice sounded. 

“That is not my choice to make. We shall see what Tigerstar will decide.”

“Wait.”

Amazingly, he waited. 

“Bramblepaw and Tawnypaw did no wrong.” She held her chin higher.  
“The warrior code says the word of the leader is law. They were doing nothing more than protecting me once they saw us fight. And protecting the leader’s kits, too. That counts for Tigerstar’s as well.”   
Her voice trailed off when she saw the tom as immovable as a border. 

His whiskers twitched. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, he meowed, “Let’s go.”

Tawnypaw whispered, “You’re taking us back to camp?”

He flicked his tail and continued onward, not bothering looking back.

Bramblepaw sank his claws into the snow. “He can’t tell us what to do.”

“Oh yes, he can,” Leopardstar mewed tiredly, her eyes fluttering closed for a moment. “He’s the deputy. If we tried to run, he’d stop us. And there’s nowhere for me to run to, anyhow.”

Bramblepaw sounded shocked. “You’re giving up.”

 _Yes,_ she thought. All she wanted now was a warm nest to sink into. She felt tired. So, so tired.   
_This is all your fault,_ a voice in her head rasped. _How could you have trusted Tigerstar all this time, after all he’s done?_

 _I thought he could change. I thought I could make him change._ Flashes of memories. The fishing lesson. 

The tender touches, the hushed purrs and soft gazes that he gave only to her, when no one else was looking. A long, long time ago, she would have revelled in those small acts of love. But now she could see that she had been right all along; those acts had meant nothing.

What a fool she was. 

As if sensing her anguish, the apprentices didn’t argue anymore. Instead, they helped her up, one on each side, and the three of them began the long, weary trek home. 

———————————-

What ever she thought was waiting for her back at the TigerClan camp, this wasn’t it.

The place was rife with screeching, whirling claws, bright spurts of blood. In an instant, she was transported back in the midst of the countless other battles that Tigerstar commanded under his iron rule. Her limbs were no longer weary. Her head was clear. 

She leapt for the nursery, dodging a ShadowClan warrior who was tussling with a BloodClan cat. Tallpoppy and Mosspelt were already defending the entrance as best as they could, but there were three, four others, jeering at them as they lunged for an opening.

Leopardstar sank her teeth deep into one of the BloodClan cats, taking him by surprise. He yowled and twisted free. She let him go and whirled around to claw at another. With the two queens fighting with all their might, the final BloodClan cat fled in fear, Mosspelt’s claws on his tail as a reminder of a mother’s fury. 

Leopardstar prepared herself to leap into another battle, but before she could, a large weight slammed her into the ground. She clenched her teeth. Claws dug and twisted deep into her skin.  
At first she attempted to shoulder her way up, bash the BloodClan cat’s teeth in.

But the voice made her blood run cold.

“Traitor,” Tigerstar hissed in her ear.

She could smell the fresh-kill in his breath, the stench of death. Her shoulder blades burned beneath his weight, creaking as he shoved her deeper against the ground. She winced.

Before he could say any more, a single voice cut through the chaos of the battle.

It had to be Scourge.

“This fight is now over.” The small black tom was perched atop the ledge were Tigerstar - Firestar - once used for Clan meetings. 

He looked almost comically small stop it.   
“This is only a taste of what is to come. In ten days, TigerClan must leave the forest.”

At once, a clamor of protests rose and swelled like a hive of angry bees. There were so many, it was hard to hear what any one of them were saying. But if it wasn’t clear enough by the deadly gleam in Tigerstar’s eyes, not one of the forest cats liked what they heard. 

Above the cacaphony, Scourge continued, “You brought this upon yourselves. If one of yours hadn’t killed one of my mine, this would all have been avoided. It is clear to me that this forest has no room for the both of us.” 

At this, he leapt nimbly down and faced Tigerstar. 

“I told my cats to hold back in this battle. Be assured that none of your warriors were killed. But in ten days, if you are still here, you won’t be so lucky.” 

TigerClan only hissed louder at his words, threatening to erupt and spill over, to throttle him with their claws. 

But no one stopped him. They watched as BloodClan retreated back into the depths of the woods, as silently as falling snow.

The clearing grew hushed. Crimson pools glistened and dried in the cooling air. And in the air hung a tension that was thick enough to bite. 

Leopardstar sheathed and unsheathed her claws as Tigerstar slowly, slowly circled her. 

“Darkstripe told me of your little plot,” he spoke at last. “And of that scuffle with BloodClan back there.”   
His gaze shot pointedly toward Tawnypaw, who stiffened. Her face gave away none of her emotions. 

He stopped circling to stand face to face with Leopardstar.

“So,” he said. Then, “So,” he said again.

“Tawnypaw killed him because of me. She was only trying to protect me, because if anything happened to me she knew she would have you to answer to.” 

Her voice was trembling, she realized. When did she ever tremble like this? Respectable Clan leaders surely didn’t.

“And Tawnypaw was also the one who found Bramblepaw and brought him back home. She finished what she set out to do. So she’s not to —“

She didn’t see it coming. 

Couldn’t have.

She was on her side now, down on the ground, her paw on her stinging cheek. She drew it back and saw blood. Drops of it fell onto the bone-white snow.

She grit her teeth. “A-and I heard her and Bramblepaw scheming that once I had my guard down, they’d sneak back to camp and tell you everything about what they saw. I swear on my life, I —“

Another blow. 

This time she did see it coming.   
Her head snapped back with the force of it. More blood splattered.

She could barely see through the wetness dripping down one of her eyes. But RiverClan - her cats - were staring at her in silent horror. Bramblepaw moved to say something, but thought better of it. Tawnypaw had her eyes squeezed shut. Darkstripe was sneering down at her. Blackfoot was as stoic as ever.

And Tigerstar…the look on Tigerstar’s face would be etched in her memory forever. It was the look hounds had when their prey decided to put up a fight, to scratch them on the nose. 

“Tawnypaw,” he rumbled.

“Please don’t hurt her,” Leopardstar began.

“Prove to me that your loyalty lies with me and me only.”

At this, Tawnypaw jerked. “Wha-?” she whispered.

_But I’m expecting kits. Mudfur said the kits would keep me safe. Mudfur said —_

Tigerstar insisted, “Show me.”

“This is madness, Tigerstar,” Tallpoppy cried. She was ignored.

With short, hesitant steps, the apprentice looked down upon the golden she-cat. Her fur was fluffed out so that she looked twice her size, and upon her face was the most stricken expression that a cat could have.

A wave of calmness settled over Leopardstar like a wave. 

“It’s alright, Tawnypaw.”

A leader was blessed with nine lives. She had never died yet. She should be afraid of death, she supposed. Would her unborn kits survive it? She didn’t know. Ah, then, more innocent blood would be spilled in her name.

These were the thoughts that swam through her head as she gazed wearily up at Tawnypaw, who was readying the killing blow. The apprentice’s arm was shaking so hard that she was half-worried it would fall right off.

 _The sun’s rays light her fur wonderfully from the back,_ was Leopardstar’s last thought. _As though she were glowing from within._

She closed her eyes, readying herself for the last pain she would ever feel. 

_I won’t be angry with you. In fact, I’ll be watching you when you finally become Tawnystar. <\i>_

_In another heartbeat, everything went black_


End file.
